Evaluating Obama's New Gay Rights Initiative

The Labor Department is set to expand gay rights by allowing workers to
take family and medical leave to care for sick or newborn children of
same-sex partners. Such protections have existed for straight couples
since 1993. Here's what writers are making of this latest expansion of
gay rights by the Obama administration.

What This Does--And
Does Not Do ABC News' Jake Tapper explains, "Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
will this week -- likely Tuesday -- issue
regulations ordering businesses to abide by an expanded interpretation
of the Family and Medical Leave Act, sources tell ABC News, an
interpretation that will require them to recognize on one level same sex
marriages and other non-'traditional' families when upholding the 1993
law giving employees unpaid leave to care for sick family members or
newborns. ... The move is not, however, a full expansion of the 1993
Family and
Medical Leave Act requires businesses of 50 or more employees to provide
up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period for employees
to care for family members with medical needs, including childbirth.
This expansion applies only to caring for children."

Obama
Building Gay Rights Legacy The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen beams, "The pace
hasn't always kept up with the hopes of supporters, but it's hard not to
notice that the Obama administration's record on advances in gay rights
keeps improving." Benen lists the many such accomplishments. However,
"For religious right groups hoping to label Obama our 'first
gay president,' the criticism will likely get more intense."

The Quiet Revolution The Washington Post's Michael Shear writes, "In the past year and a half,
President
Obama has quietly used his powers to expand federal rights and
benefits for gays and lesbians, targeting one government restriction
after another in an attempt to change public policy while avoiding a
confrontation with Republicans and opponents of gay rights. The result
is that scores of federal rules blocking gay rights have been
swept aside or reinterpreted by Obama officials eager to advance the
agenda of a constituency that strongly backed the president's 2008
campaign."

So Much For Letting Congress Legislate Conservative blogger Allahpundit writes, "Executive
orders: Is there anything they can't do? ... I'm surprised that
he didn't ask Congress to handle this. Sure, it's a hot-button issue
with the midterms looming, but we already crossed that bridge when the
House okayed repealing don't ask, don't tell by a wide margin.
Presumably The One figures that as mainstream acceptance of gays grows,
even a future Republican president won't dare rescind the order. In
which case, why force another tough vote on the Blue Dogs?"

At
Issue: What Legally Defines a 'Parent'? The New York Times' Robert Pear writes, "Jennifer
W. Chrisler, executive director of the Family Equality Council, another
advocacy group, estimated that one million lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender families were raising two million children. The upshot of
the Labor Department policy, she said, is that 'if you act like a
parent, do the work of a parent and raise a child like a parent, then
you are a parent for the purpose of the Family and Medical Leave Act.'
Federal law does not recognize same-sex relationships. But Labor
Department lawyers have concluded that people in such relationships may
nevertheless qualify for family and medical leave when they act as
parents, sharing the care and support of a child."